Sunday, May 13, 2007

I Fainted

On Friday, I had a syncopal episode at Starbucks and made a clear 90* fall backwards from where I was standing onto the floor. They called 911 and first a policeman came and then an FDNY EMT came and then the paramedics came. It was the most dramatic experience of my life. When I came to, I told the barista who was hitting my cheeks that I was nauseated and she kept saying, "she's nauseous" so that someone would get a bag and I kept thinking, "I said nauseated." Anyway, the paramedics strapped me into a rolling chair thing and brought me out to the ambulance where I wasn't doing much better. In the ambulance, I couldn't stop shaking so they covered me with a blanket and because I was still nauseated and dizzy, they put an oxygen mask on. By the time we got to the hospital, I was wheeled in on a stretcher with an oxygen mask while shaking uncontrollably. Did I mention it was the most dramatic experience of my life? We went to Beth Israel and when the nurse in the emergency room asked if I had ever been a patient there, I said, "I think I was born here." He replied, "Oh, maybe you'll get a discount." It took four tries for the nurse to get a clear EKG because I couldn't stop shaking and she was trying not to get frustrated with me. It was nice. When she was done, I was starting to get better so I called my mother but she didn't pick up. I called my father and left a voicemail. Then I tried my mother again. She answered and said, "What's the emergency--I'm at the dentist?" I didn't know that while she was there she missed five calls and had a voicemail that kept beeping, so I said, "I'm at the hospital." She said, "you win." All the tests came back fine and I didn't have time before Shabbos for a CT Scan but I probably suffered a minor concussion and that's why I didn't come back from lunch break.